Switzerland’s Most Beautiful Train Journeys

No other country has built its rail network so deliberately around the landscape it crosses. Panoramic carriages, glass-roofed observation cars, and routes that favor gradual climbs over tunnels through the mountains are the result of over a century of engineering aimed at keeping the scenery in view rather than cutting through it. Switzerland’s scenic trains cover glacier valleys, high alpine passes, lakeside vineyards, and Europe’s highest railway station, and each route rewards travelers who choose the train over the more direct way by road or air.

The Glacier Express connects Zermatt and St Moritz over 291 kilometers and nearly eight hours, crossing 291 bridges and passing through 91 tunnels along the way. Among them is the Landwasser Viaduct, a curved limestone structure that carries the train 65 meters above the valley floor before disappearing straight into a tunnel mouth cut into rock.

The route climbs to its highest point at the Oberalp Pass, at 2,033 meters, before descending through the Rhine Gorge, a canyon carved over thousands of years that locals call the Swiss Grand Canyon. Panoramic carriages with floor-to-ceiling windows keep the Matterhorn and the peaks around St Moritz in constant view. Reservations sell out months ahead in peak summer season, so booking early matters.

The Bernina Express runs from Chur to Tirano in Italy, covering 144 kilometers in about 4.5 hours, and it’s the only train on this list that crosses an international border while remaining part of a UNESCO World Heritage line, the Rhaetian Railway. The journey passes Lake Bianco, climbs to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 meters, and loops through the Brusio spiral viaduct, a nine-arch structure built to manage a steep drop in elevation without a straight, punishing descent.

Open-air observation cars run in the summer months for travelers who want the mountain air along with the view. Winter service brings a different trip entirely, with frozen lakes and snow-loaded pine forests that summer travelers miss.

Choosing between the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express often comes down to pace and geography rather than which route is better outright. The Glacier Express is the longer, slower crossing between two Swiss resort towns, while the Bernina Express is shorter, crosses into Italy, and covers a wider range of terrain in less time, from glaciers to palm trees in a single afternoon.

The GoldenPass Express links Montreux and Interlaken on a single train, a change from the older GoldenPass Line that required switching trains partway. The route runs along Lake Geneva before climbing into the Bernese Oberland, passing vineyard terraces at Lavaux and later the peaks around Gstaad. The newer Prestige carriages angle their seats toward the windows, a design specifically built for the mountain scenery on this stretch.

Beyond the three named express routes, Switzerland’s mountain railways reach altitudes few trains anywhere else attempt. The Gornergrat Bahn climbs out of Zermatt to 3,089 meters, delivering close views of the Matterhorn and 28 other peaks above 4,000 meters. Near Interlaken, the Jungfrau Railway tunnels through the Eiger and Mönch to reach the Jungfraujoch station at 3,454 meters, Europe’s highest railway station, with an observation deck looking out over the Aletsch Glacier, the longest ice stream in the Alps. Both routes operate year-round and require no hiking or climbing experience to reach their summits.

These four routes can be combined into a single trip with careful planning, since Swiss rail connections are frequent and reliable. A route through Zermatt, St Moritz, and Interlaken, linked by the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and regional connections, covers most of the country’s rail highlights in under two weeks. Seat reservations are required on the named express trains and should be arranged well before departure, particularly for summer travel. Pacing matters as much as the routes themselves. Building in a night or two at each end of a crossing, rather than treating the train as a same-day transfer, gives the scenery room to register and leaves time to recover before the next leg.

Speak to Do Not Disturb’s luxury travel experts and turn this route into a private itinerary, built around the trains, the timing, and the stays that suit how you want to travel.

Start planning your journey now.